Radio frequency identification tag in a license plate

ABSTRACT

Techniques, systems, and devices are disclosed for the design and manufacturing of a radio-frequency identification (RFID)-enabled license plate. In one aspect, a proposed RFID-enabled license plate includes a metal plate and a RFID assembly integrated with the metal plate. The RFID assembly further includes a front cover attached to a first side of the metal plate and a back cover attached to a back side of the metal plate opposite to the front cover, and the front cover and the back cover substantially overlap with each other. The RFID assembly additionally includes a RFID tag sandwiched between the front cover and the back cover and is affixed to at least one of the front cover and the back cover. As such, the RFID tag is substantially tamper-proof.

PRIORITY CLAIM AND RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This patent document claims benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e)to U.S. Patent Application No. 62/144,160 entitled “RADIO FREQUENCYIDENTIFICATION TAG” and filed on Apr. 7, 2015. The disclosures of theabove application are incorporated by reference in their entirety as apart of this document.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This patent document generally relates to radio frequency identification(RFID) systems and more particularly to the design and manufacturing ofRFID tags and RFID-enabled license plates.

2. Related Art

RFID technology harnesses electromagnetic fields to transfer datawirelessly. One of the primary uses for RFID technology is the automaticidentification and tracking of objects via RFID tags. An RFID tag may beattached to or incorporated into a variety of objects, and may haveapplications in numerous areas. For example, a license plate thatincludes an RFID tag may be used for the purposes of electronic tolling,parking access, and border control.

However, a conventional license plate including a RFID tag may not besufficiently secure. In particular, a conventional RFID tag that isattached to or incorporated into a license plate in a conventionalmanner may not provide adequate weather proofing and tamper proofingcapabilities.

SUMMARY

Embodiments described herein provide various designs of radio frequencyidentification (RFID)-enable license plates which are both tamper-proofand weather-proof. The subject matter described in this patent documentcan be implemented in specific ways that provide one or more of thefollowing features. For example, a proposed RFID-enable license platecan be constructed by integrating a metal license plate with a RFIDassembly that includes a RFID tag. This RFID assembly may furtherinclude a front cover attached to the front side of the license plateand a back cover attached to the back side of the license plate oppositeto the front cover, and the RFID tag is affixed to the at least one ofthe front cover and the back cover. The license plate may furtherinclude a cutout which is positioned between the front cover and theback cover so that the front cover and the back cover can join eachother inside the cutout and the RFID tag can be positioned substantiallywithin the cutout. Moreover, adhesives such as very high bond (VHB) maybe used to seal off spaces between the front cover and the front side ofthe license plate and between the back cover and the back side of themetal plate, rendering the RFID-enable license plate both tamper-proofand weather-proof. Further weather-proofing can be achieved by coveringthe RFID tag with a protective film layer and further tamper-proofingcan be achieved by including at least one tear guide in the RFID tag. Asanother example, a proposed RFID-enable license plate can be constructedby integrating a metal license plate with a RFID assembly that includesa RFID tag and a back cover, without using a front cover. The back coverof the RFID assembly may be attached to the back side of the licenseplate so that the RFID tag is sandwiched between the back side of thelicense plate and the back cover and is affixed to the back cover. Theback cover is affixed to the back side of the license plate using a setof adhesives which follows the perimeter of the back cover, renderingthe RFID-enable license plate both tamper-proof and weather-proof.

In one aspect, a radio-frequency identification (RFID)-enabled licenseplate is disclosed. This RFID-enabled license plate includes a metalplate and a RFID assembly integrated with the metal plate. The RFIDassembly further includes a front cover attached to a first side of themetal plate and a back cover attached to the back side of the metalplate opposite to the front cover, and the front cover and the backcover substantially overlap with each other. The RFID assemblyadditionally includes a RFID tag sandwiched between the front cover andthe back cover and is affixed to at least one of the front cover and theback cover. As such, the RFID tag is substantially tamper-proof.

In some embodiments, the metal plate also includes a cutout which ispositioned between the front cover and the back cover and the RFID tagis positioned substantially within the cutout.

In some embodiments, the front cover and the back cover join each otherinside the cutout at an embossed structure on the front cover.

In some embodiments, the RFID tag is affixed to the at least one of thefront cover and the back cover using adhesives, such as using very highbond (VHB).

In some embodiments, the front cover is affixed to the first side of themetal plate using a first set of adhesives which follow a perimeter ofthe front cover, and the back cover is affixed to the second side of themetal plate using a second set of adhesives which follow a perimeter ofthe back cover. As a result, the first and second sets of adhesives sealoff spaces between the front cover and the first side of the metal plateand between the back cover and the second side of the metal plate. Insome embodiments, the first and second sets of adhesives include VHBs.

In some embodiments, the cutout includes a first portion which is usedto accommodate the RFID tag and a second portion configured as a slotantenna.

In some embodiments, the front cover includes a first portion configuredto cover the first portion of the cutout and a second portion configuredto cover the second portion of the cutout. Moreover, the second portionof the front cover has geometry of the slot antenna.

In some embodiments, the second portion of the front cover is configuredin a centered position with respect to the first portion of the frontcover.

In some embodiments, the second portion of the front cover is configuredin an off-centered position with respect to the first portion of thefront cover.

In some embodiments, the RFID tag further includes an RFID chip and anantenna loop which is electrically coupled to the RFID chip. Moreover,the RFID chip and the antenna loop are disposed on a substrate.

In some embodiments, the RFID tag further includes a protective filmlayer which is attached to the substrate to form a weather-proofenclosure for the RFID chip and the antenna loop.

In some embodiments, the RFID tag also includes at least one tear guide.

In another aspect, a RFID assembly is disclosed. This RFID assemblyincludes a RFID tag which further includes an RFID chip and an antennaloop which is electrically coupled to the RFID chip. The RFID chip andthe antenna loop are disposed on a substrate. The RFID assembly alsoincludes a front cover and back cover, such that the RFID tag issandwiched between the front cover and the back cover and is affixed toat least one of the front cover and the back cover.

In some embodiments, the RFID tag further includes a protective filmlayer which is attached to the substrate to form a weather-proofenclosure for the RFID chip and the antenna loop. In some embodiments,the protective film layer includes polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

In some embodiments, the protective film layer is welded to thesubstrate around the perimeter of substrate. For example, the protectivefilm layer can be welded to the substrate using laser welding or sonicwelding.

In some embodiments, one of the front cover and the back cover includesa heat stake, and the RFID tag is attached to the one of the front coverand the back cover using the heat stake.

In some embodiments, the other of the front cover and the back coverincludes an energy director, and the RFID tag is attached to the otherof the front cover and the back cover at the energy director.

In some embodiments, the RFID tag is attached to the energy directorusing one of the following: laser welding and sonic welding. In someembodiments, the RFID tag further comprises at least one tear guide.

In some embodiments, at least one of the front cover and the back coverincludes an injection molded component.

In some embodiments, the one of the front cover and the back coverincludes an injection molded component, and the other of the front coverand the back cover is cut from a flat sheet.

In yet another aspect, another RFID-enabled license plate is disclosed.This RFID-enabled license plate includes a license plate and a RFIDassembly integrated with the license plate. The RFID assembly furtherincludes a back cover attached to the back side of the license plate anda RFID tag sandwiched between the back side of the license plate and theback cover and is affixed to the back cover. As such, the RFID tag istamper-proof. In some embodiments, the back cover is affixed to the backside of the license plate using a set of adhesives which follows aperimeter of the back cover, and the set of adhesives seals off spacesbetween the back side of the license plate and the perimeter of the backcover.

Other features and advantages of the present inventive concept should beapparent from the following description which illustrates by way ofexample aspects of the present inventive concept.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and operation of the present invention will be understoodfrom a review of the following detailed description and the accompanyingdrawings in which like reference numerals refer to like parts and inwhich:

FIG. 1A shows a top view of an exemplary radio frequency identification(RFID) tag in accordance with some embodiments described herein.

FIG. 1B shows a cross-sectional view of the RFID tag along line A-A′ inFIG. 1A in accordance with some embodiments described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary welding process for manufacturing RFIDtags of FIGS. 1A-1B in accordance with some embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 3A shows a top-view illustration of an exemplary RFID-enabledlicense plate including an exemplary RFID assembly integrated with alicense plate in accordance with some embodiments described herein.

FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the RFID-enabledlicense plate along a line BB′ to illustrate an exemplary implementationof the RFID assembly in FIG. 3A in accordance with some embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 3C shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the RFID-enabledlicense plate along the line BB′ to illustrate another exemplaryimplementation of RFID assembly in FIG. 3A in accordance with someembodiments described herein.

FIG. 3D shows a front view of the tamper-proof and weather-proof RFIDassembly including the RFID tag described in FIG. 3C in accordance withsome embodiments described herein.

FIG. 3E shows a back view of the tamper-proof and weather-proof RFIDassembly including the RFID tag described in FIG. 3C in accordance withsome embodiments described herein.

FIG. 3F shows a front view of a portion of the RFID-enabled licenseplate including the tamper-proof and weather-proof RFID assemblydescribed in FIG. 3C assembled with the license plate in accordance withsome embodiments described herein.

FIG. 3G shows a back view of a portion of the RFID-enabled license plateincluding the tamper-proof and weather-proof RFID assembly described inFIG. 3C assembled with license plate 320 in accordance with someembodiments described herein.

FIG. 4 shows a top-view illustration of an exemplary RFID-enabledlicense plate including an exemplary RFID assembly integrated with alicense plate in accordance with some embodiments described herein.

FIG. 5A shows an exemplary construction of a front cover of the proposedtamper-proof and weather-proof RFID assembly in accordance with someembodiments described herein.

FIG. 5B shows an exemplary construction of a back cover of the proposedtamper-proof and weather-proof RFID assembly in accordance with someembodiments described herein.

FIG. 6A shows a top view of an exemplary RFID-enabled license plate inaccordance with some embodiments described herein.

FIG. 6B shows a top view of an exemplary RFID-enabled license plate inaccordance with some embodiments described herein.

FIG. 7A is a photographic image of the front-side of an exemplaryRFID-enabled license plate including an exemplary RFID assembly withouta front cover in accordance with some embodiments described herein.

FIG. 7B a photographic image of the back-side of the RFID-enabledlicense plate shown in FIG. 7A including an exemplary RFID assembly inaccordance with some embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While certain embodiments are described, these embodiments are presentedby way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope ofprotection. The methods and systems described herein may be embodied ina variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions,and changes in the form of the example methods and systems describedherein may be made without departing from the scope of protection.

Embodiments described herein provide various designs of radio frequencyidentification (RFID)-enable license plates which are both tamper-proofand weather-proof. The subject matter described in this patent documentcan be implemented in specific ways that provide one or more of thefollowing features. For example, a proposed RFID-enable license platecan be constructed by integrating a metal license plate with a RFIDassembly that includes a RFID tag. This RFID assembly may furtherinclude a front cover attached to the front side of the license plateand a back cover attached to the back side of the license plate oppositeto the front cover, and the RFID tag is affixed to the at least one ofthe front cover and the back cover. The license plate may furtherinclude a cutout which is positioned between the front cover and theback cover so that the front cover and the back cover can join eachother inside the cutout and the RFID tag can be positioned substantiallywithin the cutout. Moreover, adhesives such as very high bond (VHB) maybe used to seal off spaces between the front cover and the front side ofthe license plate and between the back cover and the back side of themetal plate, rendering the RFID-enable license plate both tamper-proofand weather-proof. Further weather-proofing can be achieved by coveringthe RFID tag with a protective film layer and further tamper-proofingcan be achieved by including at least one tear guide in the RFID tag.

As another example, a proposed RFID-enable license plate can beconstructed by integrating a metal license plate with a RFID assemblythat includes a RFID tag and a back cover, without using a front cover.The back cover of the RFID assembly may be attached to the back side ofthe license plate so that the RFID tag is sandwiched between the backside of the license plate and the back cover and is affixed to the backcover. The back cover is affixed to the back side of the license plateusing a set of adhesives which follows the perimeter of the back cover,rendering the RFID-enable license plate both tamper-proof andweather-proof.

FIG. 1A shows a top view of an exemplary radio frequency identification(RFID) tag 100 in accordance with some embodiments described herein. Asillustrated in FIG. 1A, RFID tag 100 includes an integrated circuit (IC)chip 110 (or “chip 110” hereinafter) and an antenna 120, which form anRFID module. Chip 110 may include a memory (not shown) and othercircuits. While FIG. 1A shows antenna 120 configured as a rectangularloop, antenna 120 may be configured in other geometries withoutdeparting from the scope of the present inventive concept. RFID tag 100also includes a substrate 130 which provides structural supports forchip 110 and antenna 120. In various embodiments, chip 110 and antenna120 may be deposited or fabricated on substrate 130. RFID tag 100 alsoincludes a protective film layer to enclose and seal the RFID module ofRFID tag 100 including chip 110 and antenna 120. This protective filmlayer, which is over the RFID module and substrate 130, is described inmore detail below in conjunction with FIG. 1B.

Also shown in FIG. 1A, RFID tag 100 further includes a welded area 140and a tear guide 150 configured as a notch located on an edge of weldedarea 140. In the embodiment of FIG. 1A, welded area 140 includes aperimeter portion of the RFID tag 100. Moreover, welded area 140 can bea portion of substrate 130, such as the perimeter of substrate 130.However, welded area 140 may include a different portion of RFID tag 100without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept. Insome embodiments, the protective film layer is welded onto substrate 130at welded area 140. For example, the protective film layer can be sonicor laser welded to the substrate 130 around the perimeter of substrate130. In this example, welded area 140 is the perimeter of substrate 130.In addition to welding, other techniques may be used to join theprotective film layer to the substrate 130.

In some embodiments, RFID tag 100 is configured to tear along aprefabricated tear guide 150. As such, RFID tag 100 can be destroyed orotherwise rendered nonfunctional in the event of tampering. Althoughtear guide 150 is shown to be positioned in welded area 140 on an edgeof RFID tag 100, a person having ordinary skill in the art canappreciate that tear guide 150 can be located in a different portion ofRFID tag 100, for example, on a different edge of RFID tag 100. Tearguide 150 may be positioned near the center of an edge or in anoff-centered position such as in the embodiment shown. Furthermore,while tear guide 150 is shown as a V-shaped notch in the welded area140, tear guide 150 may be configured as an indentation, a score, a cutor in other forms for easy tearing. Moreover, RFID tag 100 can includemore than one tear guide without departing from the scope of the presentinventive concept. For example, RFID tag 100 can include a second tearguide positioned on an opposite edge from the edge that contains tearguide 150. Notably, it is desirable to place tear guide 150 in a “weak”area of RFID tag 100 so that RFID tag 100 can be torn up easily at tearguide 150 with a reasonable amount of applied stress.

In some embodiments, RFID tag 100 can be coupled (e.g., inductively orcapacitatively) to a metal license plate via substrate 130. According toone exemplary embodiment, the metal license plate can serve as aradiator for RFID tag 100. Various configurations of an RFID-enabledlicense plate are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,344,890, the disclosuresof which are incorporated by reference herein in their respectiveentirety.

In various embodiments, instead of using the combination of chip 110 andantenna 120, RFID tag 100 can be implemented as an “RFID strap.” TheRFID strap can include chip 110 and various contacts (not shown) thatcan be connected to or capacitively coupled to a metal license plate. Inthese embodiments, the metal license plate can serve as a slot antennafor RFID tag 100. RFID straps are described in U.S. Reissued Pat. Nos.44,165 and 43,488, the disclosures of which are incorporated byreference herein in their respective entirety.

In some embodiments, RFID tag 100 may be configured to support multiplefrequencies. Multi-frequency RFID tags are described in Reissued U.S.Pat. Nos. RE 43,355 and RE 44,691, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference herein in their respective entirety.

In some embodiments, access to a memory (not shown) on chip 110 can begranted based on a security key. The provision of secure identificationsolutions is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,081,819, U.S. Pat. No.7,671,746, U.S. Pat. No. 8,237,568, U.S. Pat. No. 8,322,044, and U.S.Pat. No. 8,004,410, the disclosures of which are incorporated byreference herein in their respective entirety.

FIG. 1B shows a cross-sectional view of RFID tag 100 along line A-A′ inFIG. 1A in accordance with some embodiments described herein. Comparingwith FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B provides a better viewing angle of the protectivefilm layer discussed above. As illustrated in FIG. 1B, RFID tag 100includes the above-mentioned protective film layer 160 which isconstructed as a top layer of RFID tag 100 over chip 110, antenna 120,and substrate 130, wherein chip 110 and antenna 120 is sandwichedbetween and protected by protective film layer 160 and substrate 130.Note that protective film layer 160 and substrate 130 form a sealedenclosure for chip 110, antenna 120 and other functional components ofRFID tag 100, which renders RFID tag 100 weather-proof. In one exemplaryembodiment, protective film layer 160 may be constructed frompolyethylene terephthalate (PET). However, the protective film layer maybe constructed from a different material without departing from thescope of the present inventive concept.

As discussed above, protective film layer 160 can be joined withsubstrate 130 of RFID tag 100 by welding, such as by welding tosubstrate 130 along welded area 140. In some embodiments, protectivefilm layer 160 can be welded to substrate 130 using sonic welding. Inother embodiments, protective film layer 160 can be welded to substrate130 using laser welding. As such, protective film layer 160 andsubstrate 130 form a protective enclosure for the RFID module includingchip 110 and antenna 120, which renders RFID tag 100 weather-proof bysealing and/or enclosing the functional components of RFID tag 100. Aperson having ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that a differentwelding technique may be employed to join protective film layer 160 tosubstrate 130.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary welding process 200 for manufacturingRFID tags 100 in accordance with some embodiments described herein.Referring to FIGS. 1A-1B and 2, welding process 200 illustrated in FIG.2 may be employed to join protective film layer 160 to substrate 130 ofRFID tag 100. As illustrated in FIG. 2, welding process 200 can be aroll-to-roll process. More specifically, a roll of RFID modules 202,which can include a linear or two-dimensional array of RFID modules, isplaced facing up, wherein each of RFID modules includes an IC chip andtraces fabricated on a substrate. Meanwhile, a roll of cover material204, such as a material for fabricating protective film layer 160 inFIG. 1B, is positioned over the roll of RFID modules 202. In theembodiment shown, both the roll of RFID modules 202 and the roll ofcover material 204 are fed horizontally and incrementally through awelding area 206 (e.g., a sonic or laser welding station) which includesa welding fixture 208 positioned at the bottom and a welding pressmember 210 positioned on top and moves vertically as shown. As the rollof RFID modules 202 and the roll of cover material 204 pass throughwelding area 206, welding press member 210 is configured to weld aportion of the protective film material in the roll of cover material204 to a corresponding RFID module or modules in the roll of RFIDmodules 202, whereby forming the RFID tags 100 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

While various embodiments of RFID tag 100 described above provideweather-proofing capability, they may still be prone to tampering insome outdoor applications such as when they are used in RFID-enablelicense plates. For example, if RFID tag 100 is placed on a licenseplate in a manner similar to a conventional registration sticker, it canbe easily stolen and/or tampered with. Hence, it is desirable to makeRFID tag 100 tamper-proof in certain applications such as when used inRFID-enable license plates.

FIG. 3A shows a top-view illustration of an exemplary RFID-enabledlicense plate 300 including an exemplary RFID assembly 310 integratedwith a license plate 320 in accordance with some embodiments describedherein. As can be seen in FIG. 3A, RFID-enabled license plate 300includes a cutout 330 (having appearance of a dark rectangle and a slot)manufactured through and positioned on a side of license plate 320.While not explicitly shown, RFID assembly 310 includes both a frontcover and a back cover which are assembled on the front side and theback side of license plate 320, respectively. The front and back coversof RFID assembly 310 are described in more detail below in conjunctionwith FIGS. 3B and 3C. In various embodiments, RFID assembly 310 ispositioned on license plate 320 so that it has a significant overlapwith cutout 330. As such, the front cover and the back cover of RFIDassembly 310 can be joined through cutout 330 to form a temper-proofstructure. RFID assembly 310 also includes RFID tag 100 as described inFIGS. 1A and 1B. RFID tag 100 may be attached to one of both of thefront cover and the back cover of RFID assembly 310, wherein variousexamples of attachment are described below. Although the embodiment inFIG. 3A shows upper part of cutout 330 having a rectangle shape, otherembodiments of cutout 330 can have non-rectangle shapes withoutdeparting from the scope of the present inventive concept.

FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the RFID-enabledlicense plate 300 along a line B-B′ to illustrate an exemplaryimplementation of RFID assembly 310 in FIG. 3A in accordance with someembodiments described herein. As can be seen in FIG. 3B, RFID assembly310 includes a front cover 350, a back cover 360, and RFID tag 100 whichis sandwiched between front cover 350 and back cover 360. Also can beseen in FIG. 3B, front cover 350 is attached to license plate 320 on oneside of license plate 320 and over cutout 330, while back cover 360 isattached to plate 320 on the other side of license plate 320 and overcutout 330. In various embodiments, front cover 350 and back cover 360can be attached to license plate 320 using adhesives (e.g., adhesivestrips). Because license plate 320 and cutout 330 separate front cover350 from back cover 360, a gap is created in the RFID assembly 310 asshown. In some embodiments, one or both of the front cover 350 and theback cover 360 can be injection molded components.

The inset figure in FIG. 3B shows a zoomed-in illustration of a regionof assembly 310 where RFID tag 100 is assembled with both front cover350 and back cover 360. As can be seen in the inset figure, RFID tag 100is both attached to a surface of front cover 350 as well as makingcontact with back cover 360. More specifically, front cover 350 alsoincludes a heat stake 352. Hence, RFID tag 100 can be affixed to thefront cover 350 using heat stake 352. For example, after punching heatstake 352 through a hole in RFID tag 100, heat stake 352 can be meltedand reformed to create a locking head over the RFID tag 100. Alternatelyor in addition, RFID tag 100 can be welded (e.g., using sonic or laserwelding) to back cover 360. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3B, backcover 360 includes an energy director 362 configured as a protrusionfrom back cover 360. As such, RFID tag 100 can be welded to back cover360 at energy director 362. A person having ordinary skill in the artcan appreciate that RFID tag 100 can be joined to front cover 350 and/orback cover 360 using a different mechanism without departing from thescope of the present inventive concept. For example, RFID tag 100 can bejoined to front cover 350 by way of an energy director and back cover360 using a heat stake.

Some applications may require a placement of metallic material (e.g.,retro-reflective material, holographic image) over RFID-enabled licenseplate 300 and therefore over RFID assembly 310. In order to preserve thetransmission and reception capabilities of the RFID tag, a selectivede-metallization process may be employed to treat the metallic material.Selective de-metallization is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,034,688 and7,463,154, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference hereinin their respective entirety.

Notably, the above described RFID-enabled license plate 300 includingRFID assembly 310 constructed with a combination of heating staking andwelding (e.g., sonic or laser) renders RFID tag 100 tamper-proof.According to one exemplary embodiment, RFID tag 100 can includeadditional tamper-proof features such as the prefabricated tear guide150 described above. In various embodiments, RFID tag 100 is configuredto tear along the prefabricated tear guide 150. As such, RFID tag 100can be destroyed or otherwise rendered nonfunctional in the event oftampering.

FIG. 3C shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the RFID-enabledlicense plate 300 along the line BB′ to illustrate another exemplaryimplementation of RFID assembly 310 in FIG. 3A in accordance with someembodiments described herein. Similarly to the embodiment in FIG. 3B,the embodiment of RFID assembly 310 in FIG. 3C includes a front cover370, a back cover 380, and RFID tag 100 which is sandwiched betweenfront cover 370 and back cover 380. Moreover, front cover 370 isattached to license plate 320 on one side of license plate 320 and overcutout 330, while back cover 380 is attached to license plate 320 on theother side of license plate 320 and over cutout 330. In one exemplaryembodiment, front cover 370 can be an injection molded component whileback cover 380 can be cut from a flat sheet.

In various embodiments, RFID tag 100 can be adhered to both front cover370 and back cover 380 using sticky tapes such as very high bond (VHB).For example, FIG. 3C shows that RFID tag 100 is adhered to front cover370 using a VHB bond 372 which is placed between front cover 370 andRFID tag 100. In this particular embodiment shown, VHB bond 372 isadhered to a protruding area of front cover 370 which when assembledwith license plate 320, makes contact with both RFID tag 100 and backcover 380 through cutout 330. Also shown in FIG. 3C, RFID tag 100 isadhered to back cover 380 using another VHB bond 382 which is placedbetween back cover 380 and RFID tag 100. In this particular embodimentshown, a portion of VHB bond 382 is also adhered onto license plate 320.While this embodiment uses a flat back cover and embossed front cover,other configurations of front cover 370 and back cover 380 for attachingRFID tag 100 with VHBs can be used without departing from the scope ofthe present inventive concept.

Also shown in FIG. 3C, in addition to the portion of VHB bond 382 whichis placed between the back cover 380 and license plate 320, additionalVHBs 374, 376 and 384 are used which substantially follow the perimeterof RFID assembly 310 to completely seal off holes and slots between RFIDassembly 310 and plate 320. Notably, by adhering RFID tag 100 to bothfront cover 370 and back cover 380 using VHBs, and assembling frontcover 370 and back cover 380 with a license plate from the front and theback surfaces of the license plate renders RFID tag 100 tamper-proof.Moreover, using VHBs which substantially follow the perimeter of RFIDassembly 310 to completely seal off holes and slots between RFIDassembly 310 and license plate 320 renders RFID assembly 310 weatherproof and reinforces the tamper-proof nature of the assembly.Furthermore, RFID tag 100 can include additional tamper-proof featuressuch as the prefabricated tear guide described above, so that RFID tag100 can be destroyed or otherwise rendered nonfunctional if it istampered with.

FIG. 3D shows a front view of the tamper-proof and weather-proof RFIDassembly 310 including the RFID tag 100 described in FIG. 3C inaccordance with some embodiments described herein. More specifically,the view is generated at a plane behind front cover 370 and lookingtoward back cover 380. As such, front cover 370 is not visible in FIG.3D. As can be seen in FIG. 3D, the exemplary RFID assembly 310 includesthe RFID tag 100, which further includes the chip 110 and the antenna120 disposed on the substrate 130. FIG. 3D shows an embodiment of VHBbond 372 positioned on top of RFID tag 100 for bonding RFID tag 100 tothe front cover 370 (not shown). Note that the position and shape of VHBbond 372 shown are only exemplary, while various other configurations ofVHB bond 372 can be used in RFID assembly 310 without departing from thescope of the present inventive concept. FIG. 3D also shows an embodimentof VHB bond 382 positioned behind RFID tag 100 for bonding RFID tag 100to the back cover 380. The position and shape of VHB bond 382 shown areonly exemplary, while various other configurations of VHB bond 382 canbe used in RFID assembly 310 without departing from the scope of thepresent inventive concept.

FIG. 3E shows a back view of the tamper-proof and weather-proof RFIDassembly 310 including the RFID tag 100 described in FIG. 3C inaccordance with some embodiments described herein. More specifically,the view is generated at a plane in front of back cover 380 and lookingtoward front cover 370. As such, back cover 380 is not visible in FIG.3E. In addition to the RFID tag 100, FIG. 3E shows an embodiment of VHBbond 382 positioned in a corner of RFID tag 100 for bonding RFID tag 100to the back cover 380 (not shown). Note that the position and shape ofVHB bond 382 shown are only exemplary, while various otherconfigurations of VHB bond 382 can be used in RFID assembly 310 withoutdeparting from the scope of the present inventive concept. FIG. 3E alsoshows front cover 370 positioned in front of the exemplary RFID tag 100.

FIG. 3F shows a front view of a portion of the RFID-enabled licenseplate 300 including the tamper-proof and weather-proof RFID assembly 310described in FIG. 3C assembled with license plate 320 in accordance withsome embodiments described herein. More specifically, the view isgenerated at a plane behind front cover 370 and looking toward backcover 380. As such, front cover 370 is not visible in FIG. 3F. As can beseen in FIG. 3F, RFID assembly 310 is positioned near the upper leftcorner of license plate 320. RFID assembly 310 in FIG. 3F includessubstantially all the components shown in FIG. 3D including RFID tag 100and back cover 380. Embodiment of back cover 380 in FIG. 3F alsoincludes a long and narrow section which can be fit into the slotsection of the cutout in license plate 320. In addition to the VHBs 372and 382 already shown in FIG. 3D, RFID assembly 310 in FIG. 3F alsoincludes a large VHB 390 which is configured to substantially follow theperimeter of RFID assembly 310 around front cover 370 to completely sealoff holes and slots between front cover 370 of RFID assembly 310 andlicense plate 320.

FIG. 3G shows a back view of a portion of the RFID-enabled license plate300 including the tamper-proof and weather-proof RFID assembly 310described in FIG. 3C assembled with license plate 320 in accordance withsome embodiments described herein. More specifically, the view isgenerated at a plane in front of back cover 380 and looking toward frontcover 370. As such, back cover 380 is not visible in FIG. 3G. RFIDassembly 310 in FIG. 3G includes substantially all the components shownin FIG. 3E including RFID tag 100 and front cover 370. Similarly to FIG.3F, embodiment of front cover 370 in FIG. 3G also includes a long andnarrow section which can be fit into the slot section of the cutout inlicense plate 320. In addition to the VHB 382 already shown in FIG. 3E,RFID assembly 310 in FIG. 3G also includes a large VHB 392 which isconfigured to substantially follow the perimeter of RFID assembly 310around back cover 380 to completely seal off holes and slots betweenback cover 380 of RFID assembly 310 and license plate 320.

FIG. 4 shows a top-view illustration of an exemplary RFID-enabledlicense plate 400 including an exemplary RFID assembly 410 integratedwith a license plate 420 in accordance with some embodiments describedherein. As can be seen in FIG. 4, RFID-enabled license plate 400includes RFID assembly 410 which further includes RFID tag 412, arectangular section 414, and a long and narrow section 416. RFID-enabledlicense plate 400 also includes a cutout 430 having both a rectangularsection and a slot section. Compared to RFID assembly 310 shown in FIG.3A, RFID assembly 410 in FIG. 4 is positioned on the opposite side oflicense plate 420 and 90° rotated such that narrow section 416 of theassembly and the slot section of the cutout 430 are both in a horizontalconfiguration. Moreover, the long and narrow section 416 and the slotsection of the cutout 430 are both in an off-centered configurationrelative to the rectangular section 414 of RFID assembly 410. As such,placement of the RFID assembly 410 on the RFID-enabled license plate 400does not interfere with other features on the RFID-enabled license plate400, including but not limited to, license plate lettering and/ornumbering.

FIG. 5A shows an exemplary construction of a front cover 500 of theproposed tamper-proof and weather-proof RFID assembly in accordance withsome embodiments described herein. In various embodiments, the frontcover 500 can be used to implement front cover 350 and front cover 370described in conjunctions with FIGS. 3B-3G. In some embodiments, frontcover 500 can be an injection molded component. As described above,front cover 500 may include one or more embossed regions for placingadhesives such as VHBs. In the embodiment shown, front cover 500 alsoincludes a compartment 502 which can be used as a pocket or a receptaclefor a vehicle registration sticker.

FIG. 5B shows an exemplary construction of a back cover 510 of theproposed tamper-proof and weather-proof RFID assembly in accordance withsome embodiments described herein. In various embodiments, back cover510 can be used to implement back cover 360 and back cover 380 describedin conjunctions with FIGS. 3B-3G. In some embodiments, back cover 510can be an injection molded component. Alternately, in some embodiments,back cover 510 can be cut from a flat sheet.

FIG. 6A shows a top view of an exemplary RFID-enabled license plate 600in accordance with some embodiments described herein. As can be seen inFIG. 6A, the RFID-enabled license plate 600 includes an RFID assembly602. In various embodiments, RFID assembly 602 can be implemented usingembodiments of RFID assembly 310 described in conjunctions with FIGS.3B-3G. According to the embodiment shown, RFID assembly 602 includes avertical slot configured in a substantially centered and downwardposition relative to the rectangular portion of RFID assembly 602 thatincludes the RFID tag. In some embodiments, the front cover of RFIDassembly 602 can include a molded compartment to serve as a “stickerpocket” for the vehicle registration sticker.

FIG. 6B shows a top view of an exemplary RFID-enabled license plate 610in accordance with some embodiments described herein. As can be seen inFIG. 6B, the RFID-enabled license plate 610 includes an RFID assembly612. In various embodiments, RFID assembly 612 can be implemented usingembodiments of RFID assembly 310 described in conjunctions with FIGS.3B-3G. According to one exemplary embodiment, a vertical slot of theRFID assembly 612 is configured in a substantially off-center positionrelative to the rectangular portion of RFID assembly 612 that includesthe RFID tag. As such, placement of the RFID assembly 612 on the RFIDenabled license plate 610 does not interfere with other features on theRFID enabled license plate 610, including but not limited to, licenseplate lettering and/or numbering.

While the embodiments of the proposed RFID-enabled license plate 300 usean RFID assembly 310 having both a front cover and a back cover, otherembodiments of the proposed RFID-enabled license plate can use an RFIDassembly with a back cover but without a front cover. In theseembodiments, weather-proofing and tamper-proofing of the RFID assemblycan be achieved by using the above-described RFID assembly 100 with aprotective layer and using VHBs to adhere the RFID tag to the backcover, and then adhere the back cover to the back side of the licenseplate. Additional VHBs can be used to follow the perimeter of the backcover to completely seal off holes and slots between the RFID assemblyand the license plate. Moreover, the slot in the license plate may bepositioned near the center and oriented vertically down the center ofthe plate. In some embodiments, the back cover can be cut from a flatsheet.

FIG. 7A is a photographic image of the front-side of an exemplaryRFID-enabled license plate 700 including an exemplary RFID assemblywithout a front cover in accordance with some embodiments describedherein. In the embodiment shown, RFID-enabled license plate 700 includesa slot 702 positioned down the center of the license plate. In someimplementations, slot 702 may be covered with a prismatic material.

FIG. 7B a photographic image of the back-side of the RFID-enabledlicense plate 700 including an exemplary RFID assembly 710 in accordancewith some embodiments described herein. In the embodiment shown, RFIDassembly 710, which includes an RFID tag 712 and a back cover 714, isattached to the back side of RFID-enabled license plate 700. RFID tag712 can include additional tamper-proof features such as theprefabricated tear guide 150 described above.

In some embodiments, various RFID-enabled license plates described inthis patent document can be used in one or more account managementapplications. For example, the various RFID-enabled license plates canbe used to track a vehicle for purposes of electronic tolling, parkingaccess, and border control. At least some of these applications aredescribed in U.S. patent. Ser. No. 14/459,299, the disclosure of whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover suchforms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of theprotection. For example, the example apparatuses, methods, and systemsdisclosed herein can be applied wireless communication devicesincorporating HF and/or UHF RFID reader capabilities. The variouscomponents illustrated in the figures may be implemented as, forexample, but not limited to, software and/or firmware on a processor,ASIC/FPGA/DSP, or dedicated hardware. Also, the features and attributesof the specific example embodiments disclosed above may be combined indifferent ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall withinthe scope of the present disclosure.

The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams areprovided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to requireor imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed inthe order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the artthe order of steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in anyorder. Words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,” etc. are not intendedto limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used to guidethe reader through the description of the methods. Further, anyreference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using thearticles “a,” “an” or “the” is not to be construed as limiting theelement to the singular.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, orcombinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability ofhardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules,circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms oftheir functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented ashardware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentinvention.

The hardware used to implement the various illustrative logics, logicalblocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspectsdisclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purposeprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) orother programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor maybe a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may be anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Aprocessor may also be implemented as a combination of receiver devices,e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration. Alternatively, some steps ormethods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a givenfunction.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or moreinstructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium or non-transitory processor-readable storage medium. The steps ofa method or algorithm disclosed herein may be embodied inprocessor-executable instructions that may reside on a non-transitorycomputer-readable or processor-readable storage medium. Non-transitorycomputer-readable or processor-readable storage media may be any storagemedia that may be accessed by a computer or a processor. By way ofexample but not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable orprocessor-readable storage media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, FLASHmemory, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used tostore desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that may be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, asused herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also includedwithin the scope of non-transitory computer-readable andprocessor-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method oralgorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/orinstructions on a non-transitory processor-readable storage mediumand/or computer-readable storage medium, which may be incorporated intoa computer program product.

Although the present disclosure provides certain example embodiments andapplications, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art, including embodiments which do not provide all of thefeatures and advantages set forth herein, are also within the scope ofthis disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure isintended to be defined only by reference to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabledlicense plate, comprising: a metal plate; and a RFID assembly integratedwith the metal plate, wherein the RFID assembly further comprises: afront cover attached to a first side of the metal plate; a back coverattached to a second side of the metal plate opposite to the frontcover, wherein the front cover and the back cover substantially overlapwith each other; a RFID tag sandwiched between the front cover and theback cover and is affixed to at least one of the front cover and theback cover, wherein the RFID tag is tamper-proof.
 2. The RFID-enabledlicense plate of claim 1, wherein the metal plate further includes acutout which is positioned between the front cover and the back cover.3. The RFID-enabled license plate of claim 2, wherein the RFID tag ispositioned substantially within the cutout.
 4. The RFID-enabled licenseplate of claim 2, wherein the front cover and the back cover join eachother inside the cutout at an embossed structure on the front cover. 5.The RFID-enabled license plate of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag isaffixed to the at least one of the front cover and the back cover usingadhesives.
 6. The RFID-enabled license plate of claim 1, wherein theRFID tag is affixed to the at least one of the front cover and the backcover using very high bond (VHB).
 7. The RFID-enabled license plate ofclaim 1, wherein the front cover is affixed to the first side of themetal plate using a first set of adhesives which follow a perimeter ofthe front cover; and wherein the back cover is affixed to the secondside of the metal plate using a second set of adhesives which follow aperimeter of the back cover, wherein the first and second sets ofadhesives seal off spaces between the front cover and the first side ofthe metal plate and between the back cover and the second side of themetal plate.
 8. The RFID-enabled license plate of claim 7, wherein thefirst and second sets of adhesives include VHBs.
 9. The RFID-enabledlicense plate of claim 2, wherein the cutout includes a first portionconfigured to accommodate the RFID tag and a second portion configuredas a slot antenna.
 10. The RFID-enabled license plate of claim 9,wherein the front cover includes a first portion configured to cover thefirst portion of the cutout and a second portion configured to cover thesecond portion of the cutout, wherein the second portion of the frontcover has geometry of the slot antenna.
 11. The RFID-enabled licenseplate of claim 10, wherein the second portion of the front cover isconfigured in a centered position with respect to the first portion ofthe front cover.
 12. The RFID-enabled license plate of claim 10, whereinthe second portion of the front cover is configured in an off-centeredposition with respect to the first portion of the front cover.
 13. TheRFID-enabled license plate of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag comprises anRFID chip and an antenna loop which is electrically coupled to the RFIDchip, wherein the RFID chip and the antenna loop are disposed on asubstrate.
 14. The RFID-enabled license plate of claim 13, wherein theRFID tag further comprises a protective film layer which is attached tothe substrate to form a weather-proof enclosure for the RFID chip andthe antenna loop.
 15. The RFID-enabled license plate of claim 13,wherein the RFID tag further comprises at least one tear guide.
 16. Aradio frequency identification (RFID) assembly, comprising: a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag comprising an RFID chip and anantenna loop which is electrically coupled to the RFID chip, wherein theRFID chip and the antenna loop are disposed on a substrate; a frontcover; and a back cover, wherein the RFID tag is sandwiched between thefront cover and the back cover and is affixed to at least one of thefront cover and the back cover.
 17. The RFID assembly of claim 16,wherein the RFID tag further comprises a protective film layer which isattached to the substrate to form a weather-proof enclosure for the RFIDchip and the antenna loop.
 18. The RFID assembly of claim 16, whereinthe protective film layer comprises polyethylene terephthalate (PET).19. The RFID assembly of claim 16, wherein the protective film layer iswelded to the substrate around the perimeter of substrate.
 20. The RFIDassembly of claim 19, wherein the protective film layer is welded to thesubstrate using one of the following: laser welding and sonic welding.21. The RFID assembly of claim 16, wherein one of the front cover andthe back cover includes a heat stake.
 22. The RFID assembly of claim 21,wherein the RFID tag is attached to the one of the front cover and theback cover using the heat stake.
 23. The RFID assembly of claim 21,wherein the other of the front cover and the back cover includes anenergy director.
 24. The RFID assembly of claim 23, wherein the RFID tagis attached to the other of the front cover and the back cover at theenergy director.
 25. The RFID assembly of claim 24, wherein the RFID tagis attached to the energy director included in the other of the frontcover and the back cover using one of the following: laser welding andsonic welding.
 26. The RFID assembly of claim 16, wherein the RFID tagfurther comprises at least one tear guide.
 27. The RFID assembly ofclaim 16, wherein at least one of the front cover and the back covercomprises an injection molded component.
 28. The RFID assembly of claim16, wherein the one of the front cover and the back cover comprises aninjection molded component, and wherein the other of the front cover andthe back cover is cut from a flat sheet.
 29. A radio frequencyidentification (RFID)-enabled license plate, comprising: a licenseplate; and a RFID assembly integrated with the license plate, whereinthe RFID assembly further comprises: a back cover attached to the backside of the license plate; and a RFID tag sandwiched between the backside of the license plate and the back cover and is affixed to the backcover, wherein the RFID tag is tamper-proof.
 30. The RFID-enabledlicense plate of claim 29, wherein the back cover is affixed to the backside of the license plate using a set of adhesives which follows aperimeter of the back cover, and wherein the set of adhesives seals offspaces between the back side of the license plate and the perimeter ofthe back cover.